In-Depth

Exploring the Gran Chaco

A wild and varied wilderness

The word chaco stems from the Quechua word chaku, meaning "hunting land"—a testament to the Gran Chaco's wildlife, which supported indigenous peoples long before European settlers arrived. The region also contains an array of wildlife and landscapes, from dry mountain grasslands to woody forests to palm stands.

Strange-tailed tyrant

Capybara

Ocelot

Chaco side-necked turtle

Broad-snouted caiman

Dry Chaco

Mountain

From the western limit of the Dry Chaco. Characterized by dry forests that grown on mountainsides. In higher altitudes, the forest gives way to steppes. Not much of the subregion remains.

Arid

Covers the southwest portion of the Dry Chaco. Its location east of the Andes and far from the Atlantic isolates it from the humid winds. This area is very dry and contains salt flats, along with smaller, less diverse forests than those in the Humid Chaco.

Semi-Arid

Contains the most extensive forests in the Gran Chaco. Before wide-ranging logging took place in the Semi-Arid Chaco, its dominant trees were the red quebracho and white quebracho.

King Vulture

Guanaco

LithraeaMolleoides

Quimiloprickly pear

Black-and-white-tegu

Toothpick cactus

Chacoan peccary

Lampalagua

Silk floss tree

Jaguar

White quebracho

Chacoan cavy

Humid Chaco

Quebrachal (strong forest)

Growing on the highest grounds in the Semi-Arid and Humid Chaco are wooded areas called quebrachales. (The region is generally flat, although some areas sit lower than others.) The quebrachales are dominated by large red quebrachos, which can grow to almost 80 feet tall.

Palm Groves

Sit on slightly lower ground than quebrachales and grasslands. These areas are dominated by a variety of grasses and Copernicia alba, a palm species that can grow up to 80 feet tall. In periods of heavy rain, these grasslands and palm groves partially flood; in dry periods, they suffer wildfires.

Gallery Forest

Located along raised patches of ground around rivers and wetlands called albardónes. (Albardón means "pack-saddle," a shape these raised areas resemble.) The tallest trees grow on the highest grounds, and shorter trees grow on slightly lower grounds.

Ocelot

Capybara

Maned Wolf

Strange-tailed tyrant

Red hay

Copernicia alba

Jabiru

Crowned solitary eagle

Marsh deer

Broad-snouted caiman

Grasslands

Found in areas with sandy or humid soil. These areas shelter a wide variety of native plant and animal species—including maned wolves, whose long legs allow them to see prey over tall grasses.

Estuaries and Marshlands

Found in the lowest zones of the Humid Chaco, where the ground stays covered in water almost year-round and hinders the growth of trees. These areas shelter an enormous quantity of aquatic plant and animal species.

Dry Chaco

Mountain

From the western limit of the Dry Chaco. Characterized by dry forestes that grown on mountainsides. In higher altitudes, the forest gives way to steppes. Not much of the subregion remains.

1

King Vulture

Guanaco

LithraeaMolleoides

Quimiloprickly pear

Black-and-white-tegu

Arid

Covers the southwest portion of the Dry Chaco. Its location east of the Andes and far from the Atlantic isolates it from the humid winds. This area is very dry and contains salt flats, along with smaller, less diverse forests than those in the Humid Chaco.

Silk floss tree

Jaguar

White quebracho

Chacoan cavy

Quebrachal (strong forest)

Growing on the highest grounds in the Semi-Arid and Humid Chaco are wooded areas called quebrachales. (The region is generally flat, although some areas sit lower than others.) The quebrachales are dominated by large red quebrachos, which can grow to almost 80 feet tall.

Capybara

Maned Wolf

Strange-tailed tyrant

Red hay

Palm Groves

Sit on slightly lower ground than quebrachales and grasslands. These areas are dominated by a variety of grasses and Copernicia alba, a palm species that can grow up to 80 feet tall. In periods of heavy rain, these grasslands and palm groves partially flood; in dry periods, they suffer wildfires.

1

Copernicia alba

Jabiru

Gallery Forest

Located along raised patches of ground around rivers and wetlands called albardónes. (Albardón means "pack-saddle," a shape these raised areas resemble.) The tallest trees grow on the highest grounds, and shorter trees grow on slightly lower grounds.

1

Crowned solitary eagle

Marsh deer

Estuaries and Marshlands

Found in the lowest zones of the Humid Chaco, where the ground stays covered in water almost year-round and hinders the growth of trees. These areas shelter an enormous quantity of aquatic plant and animal species.

1

Broad-snouted caiman

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